The Moritzburg Treasure. German Royal Silver-gilt from the Saxon 'Doppelt- matt-vergoldtes Tafel-Servis', maker's marks Eckert, E. Eckert and IBB, most probably for Friedrich Heinrich Emil Eckert, Emil Paul Eckert and Johann Bernhard Breymann, Dresden, circa 1885, 1906, 1828

comprising: two teapots, a sauceboat and three sauce ladles, engraved with the arms of Saxony and numbered, the teapots and sauceboat additionally engraved with date and weight, the sauceboat further engraved with cypher of Friedrich August III, King of Saxony (1865-1932), teapots with wood handles

 



 

The Moritzburg Treasure, Silver and Works of Art from the Royal House of Hanover, Sothebys London, 17 December, 1999. Teapots lots 136 and 137 Sauceboat lot 127 Sauce ladles lots 79,80 and 82

Der Schatz der Wettiner, Dresden, May-October 1997
Teapots, no. 21 sauceboat no. 118

The three ladles, clearly marked for Johann Bernhard Breymann, Dresden, 1828. Numbered 5, 8 & 11. Light wear to gilding, good gauge and condition. The two teapots, numbered 1 & 2 both dated 1885 and engraved with respective weights 2310 grams and 2310 grams. Clear marks. Matted gilding in excellent condition. Wooden handles and finials good. Some fine surface scratches. Good gauge and condition. The sauceboat engraved to the underside 1907. Clearly marked. Also engraved with a crowned cypher and the weight kg 0,657 (657grams). Excellent gilding, gauge and condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

These pieces are part of one of the earliest surviving German Royal dinner services. The service which was initiated in 1719 from Augsburg goldsmiths was known as the `double gilt matt’ service because of its costly gilding. It was commissioned by Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, one of the richest men in the world, to impress his guests at the wedding of his heir, to the daughter of a Holy Roman Emperor. The service was subsequently enlarged, beginning in 1730 for the visit of Frederick William I, elector of Brandenburg and his son Frederick (later Frederick `the Great’ of Prussia) to a review of the Saxon army.

 “The Camp of Muhlberg, called more properly the Camp of Radewitz, towards which Friedrich Wilhelm, with English Hotham and many dignitaries are now gone, was one of the sublimest scenic military exhibitions in the history of the world; leaving all manner of imitation tournaments, modern "tin-tournaments," out of sight; and perhaps equalling the Field of the Cloth of Gold, or Barbarossa's Mainz Tournament in ancient times. It lasted for a month, regardless of expense,—June month of the year 1730;—and from far and wide the idle of mankind ran, by the thousand, to see it” (Thomas Carlyle)

At the beginning of 1945, with soviet troops approaching Dresden at the end of the Second World War, Prince Gero and Dedo sons of Prince Ernst Heinrich of Saxony, buried what they could of the family’s treasures in the Wettin hunting forest of Schloss Moritzburg. They made two separate areas of pits in the forest. The whereabouts of the first burial subsequently known as the `Russengrube’ (Russian pit) was known by a forester who was subsequently forced to reveal its position to the Russians. Prince Gero recalled the final burial which occurred during the night of February 10<sup>th</sup> and was only known to the family. `My brother Dedo and I [drove] off in the dark….After the crates had been unloaded, Dedo had to return to the castle…I dragged the crates to the pit and realised we had made it too small which is why I had to put one of the crates in upside down. I didn’t like doing this, but had no choice because of the lack of time. After I had carefully covered the trench with earth and trodden it down with my rubber boots, I then raked over the area and covered it with pine needles and leaves’. The burial which contained these pieces now offered for sale from the doppelt matt Vergoldetes service, included other treasures such as a late 16^th century cup in the form of a human head with black enamelled skin, gold lips and white eyes by Christoph Jamnitzer, known as the Moor’s head cup (Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich) and a gold basket presented by the court Jeweller Johann Melchior Dinglinger to Augustus the Strong in Warsaw on Christmas day 1701 (Braith-Mali-Museum, Biberach an de Riss) It was discovered by people with metal detectors in 1996 and 1998; becoming known as the Moritzburg Treasure it was returned to ownership of the family and subsequently sold at Sothebys, London in 1999